Steam-boiler.



L. W. G. PLYNT.

STEAM BOILER. APPLICATION PILEIj NOV. 4, 1910 Patented Sept. 10, 1912.

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L w. G. FLYN-T.

STEAM BOILER. APPLICATION TILED NOV. 4, 1910,

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STEAM BOILER.

APPLICATION TILED NOV. 4, 1910.

1,037,884, Patented Sept. 10, 1912.

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UNITED STATIZFLIEEENT ornion.

LOUIS G. FLYN'I, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNGR TO DOMESTIC APPLIANCESCOMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEIV YORK.v

STEAMJBOILER. I

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I,'LOUIS W. G. FLYNT, a

subject of the King of Great Britain, and resident of Rochester, in thecounty of Mon- The object of the invention, broadly stated, is toproduce a generator of the type above referred to which shall beparticularly adapted for'use in connection with a source of supply ofwater under pressure, such, for example, as the ordinary water main orservice-pipe of a city water-s mply.

Continuous-flow generators have been proposed heretofore in which thewater is fed into the generator from asource of supply under pressure,the water-pressure alone being depended upon for this purpose, witho-utthe use of pumps or other devices for forcing the water intothegenerator. It is obvious that in such an arrangement the workingpressure of the generator is limited at all times by the pressure in thewater supply, as a higher working pressure would at once interrupt theflow of feed-water. In such an arrangement, therefore, in the absence ofautomatic regulating devices, it is necessary, in order to insurecontinuous operation, that the burner'or other device by' which thegenerator is heated, shall be so adusted as never to produce anexcessive working pressure with relation to the water-pres? sure. In theordinary Water-supply main the pressure fluctuates considerably, andthis adjustment must obviously be regulated in accordance with theminimum \vatenpressure,

likely to be encountered. From this fact two serious disadvantagesarise; in the first place, the efiiciency of the generator is always atthe low level deterniined'by the minimum waterpressure, and, in thesecond place, when the water-pressure rises to its maximum it may soincrease the fiow of feed-water as to flood the generator and result inincomplete vaporization of the water.

In-acco-rdance with the present invention the disadvantages just pointedout are diininished or avoided by the use of automatic means by whichthe operation of the gas- Specification of Letters Patert, Applicationfiled November 4, 1910. Serial Patented Sept. 10, 1912.

HEISSUED burner or other heating device is regulated in accordance withthe lifit'erence between the steam pressure and water pressure.

hen this difference increases the heating etl'ect is increased, and.vice-versa, and two importantresults are thus secured. In the firstplace, if the water-pressure rises the temperature may be increased inproportion, thereby increasing the steam-pressure, so that the Workingpressure is not fixed at a minimum but rises and falls, being at alltimes as high as is consistent with a con t-i-n'uo-us water-feed. In thesecond place,

flooding of the generator is prevented, as 1 In connection with theautomatic device justdescribed, it is possible touse, owing willpresently be described.

to the second advantage referred to, feedcontrolling means adapted tosupply feedwater varying in volume with the waterpressure, and myinvention embraces the use of such means. In some cases, however, I

have found it simpler and preferable to employ means for producing aconstant and uniform flow of feed-water. In such an arrangement thevariations in working pressure, coinciding with the variations in waterpressure, result not in changes in the volume of water vaporized butin variations in the degree of superhea-ting of the steam produced froma constant volume ofwater, the flow of Water. being adjusted to aminimum which is susceptible of being completely vaporized even when theburnergis regulated in accordance with the minimum water-pressure. Anovel-device for securing such a uniform fiow of feed-water constitutesa feature of the invention and is disclosed hereinaften This inventionis applicable to generators in which the feed-water is injectedcontinuou-sly into the boiler and isconverted continuously into steam,and such boilers may be either of the flash-type, that is, in which thewater is instantaneously vaporized, or

of the continuous-flow type in which evaporat on is progressive. Ingenerators oi the kind in question it is necessary ordinarily togprovide for variation'in the'quantity of water supplied to the boiler,as Well asfor va- 'ri'ati'ons in the heat applied to the boiler, sincethe steam'consumption ,raries-with va rying demands. 7 H p used as inthe illustratedembodiment ofthls invention, however, t 15* practicahlehtVVhene the generator is maintaina uniform water feed to-the boiler,

, a'ndto regulate the steam-pressure solely by regulatlon of the fuelsupply, because in .this case the steam escapes from the genera torthrough an orifice ofconstant capacity and against a substantiallyconstant resistance.-

' When the valve that controls the admission of fuel to the burner isplaced under the joint influence of the water-pressure and thesteam-pressure, in the manner de scribed, and provision is made for"superheating the steam at maximum pressure, the capaclty for work -w1llvary with the water pressure, but whatever that capacity may be" t; willremain constant while. the waterpressure remains constant. \Vhen apredetermined yielding resistance, such as that of a spring, is employedto cooperate with the to produce a steam generator which is, adapted tobe thrown into automatic operation by simple andconvenient means, and

particularly by means operated .at a dis-" tance from the generator. Tothis end, I

provide my generator with a gas-burner or. other heating device which isso connected with the water-supply pipe that when water. under pressureis introduced into the latter,

as by the operation of a manually controlled valve, the water-pressurein the sup-. ply-pipe acts to throw the burner into oper-f atlon, andthus the feed of water to the generator, and the heating of thegenerator are simultaneously controlled by a single manually-operateddevice.

In the drawings :Figure .1 is a vertical section of a vacuum-cleaningapparatus embodying the invention in question, on the line 1-l in Fig.2; Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a verticalsection of the valve-chamber shown in full in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is anenlarged view of a detail of Fig. 1; Fig. 5, is a vertical section of amodified form of the controller for the feed-water; and Fig. 6 is asection on the line 6-6 in Fig. 5, looking downward.

Inthe illustrated embodiment of the invention the generator is providedwith a flash boiler 2 inclosedin a casing 1 which is lined withnonconducting material 3. The lower end of-theboiler connected, by apipe 4, with a steam-nozzle 5, and the latter discharges upwardlythrough a draft tube 6 which, in conjunction with the steam-nozzle,constitutes an air-ejector. A vacuum service-main 7 discharges air anddust into a settling-chamber 8, from which the air and the finer solidmaterial are discharged by the air-ejector. The lower portion of thesettling-chamber consists in a removable The steam discharged from thenozzle 5,

-together with the air and dust withdrawn by the air ejector, areconducted, by a flue 10, into the upper part of the casing 1 whence,after mingling with the products of combustion from the burner, theypass ofi', with the latter, through a fine 11,-to a chimney, or directlyinto the atmosphere. The flue 10 is protectedfrom the flame of theburner, and the hot gases that arise from it, by nonconducting material12, and the heat of the ,products of combustion serves -to incincratethe dust discharged by the air-ejector after it leaves the flue 10 andenters the upper part of the casing.

Brackets Band 14, supported on the flue l0, serve in turn to support thecoils of the boiler, and a gas-burner 15 serves to heat the boiler.

The water is taken from a service-pipe 1G, and, in the constructionshown, is conducted -through a passagel? surrounding the gasburner, inorder that the burner may be cooled by the water to reduce the danger ofback-firing. The heat so'absorbed is economically employed as it servesto raise the temperature of the feed-water before it onters the coils ofthe boiler. The temperature of the water is further raised, in theconstruct-ion shown, before it reaches the boilcrco'ls, by carrying itup through a pipe 18 to h heating coil 19 located in the upper part ofthe casing 1. From the heating coil the water passes into a chamber 20in the. casing 21 of a feed-regulating device. The chamber 20communicates with a float-chamber 22. The flow of water from the formerto the latter is -controlled by a valve that is operated by a float 23,so that water is maintained at a uniform height within the floatchamber.The "alve shown in the drawings for that purpose comprises a plug 24,that is screwed into the casingfZl, and has a hollow neck 25. Throughtransverse perforations 26 in the neck, the water flows into thefloat-chamber 22. Cooperating with the neck 25 is a sleeve 2'7 that isadapted to slide up and down thereon, thereby closing or opening theperforations 26. The sleeve 27 is attached to the float 23 by rods 28,audit; so adjusted, with respect to the float, as to maintain the waterconstantly at a predeterminedheight. This head of water in thefloat-chamber is utilized to produce a uniform fe'ed of water to theboiler-coils 2, by carrying the upper end 29 of the boiler up into thefloat-chamber, above the level of the water, and perforating this with ahole 30 of suitable size, located below the predetermined level otthewater.

The gas-burner 15 is fed by a gas-main 31, and the flow of gas isautomatically controlled by a regulating device comprising acasing 33, adiaphragm 34 in the casing, a

"valve 32 connected with the diaphragm, and

springs 35 and 36 that provide yielding resistance to the movements ofthe diaphragm and valve. opposite the springs a water-pipe 37 enters Onthe side of the diaphragm the casing,and this pipe leads to the servicemain, so that when the water is turned on, at

and this pipe leads from the float-chamber 22. This pipe 39 is alwaysfull of water,

received from the float-chamber, so that when steam is generated in thecoils 2 and enters the fioat-chamber through the pipe 29 it subjectsthe-column of water in the. pipe 39 to pressure, which is communicatedto the diaphragm 34 and added to the force of the springs 35 and 36,thustending to close the valve 32 and so reduce the flow of gas. Thepressure of the steam upon the water in the float-chamber does notincrease the flow of water through the hole 30, since the same pressureprevails within the tube 29.

As shown inthe drawings, the valve'32 can open some distance withoutcompressing the spring 36. The spring is normally alone 1n operation,the force of this spring being such as to counteract the predetel-minedconstant difference in pressure between the water and the steam. Whenthe generator is first thrown into operation, however,it is necessarythat the valve 32 should open to a maximum inorder to throw the burnerinto :full operation and heat the coils rapidly, so that the wateradmitted to them will be converted into steam before it. reaches theopen steam-nozzle. This result is secured automatically, .since thewaterpressure on the diaphragm is not opposed, initially, by anysteam-pressure. At this time, therefore, the spring 36 is put undercompression, thereby allowing the gas-valve 32 to open fully. untilsteam has been generated. As the steam-pressure rises the gasvalve isgradually moved from its fullyopen position, until finally the spring 36is disengaged when working-pressure is reached. Whenever, through anytemporary cause, the steam-pressure completely overcomes thewater-pressure and closes the valve 32, the flame is maintained by apilot light 40 until the steam-pressure falls off and the valve reopens.The coils will retain suflicient heat, after the burner has beenextinguished and the water shut off by closing the cook 38, toevaporatethe water contained in the float-chamber, which continues toHow to the coils 2-till exhausted.

.From the foregoing description of the ,operation of the apparatus, itobvious that the steam-pressure may rise and fall with fluctuations inthe water-pressure, but that can never remain above the. waterpressureand so stop the flow of water to the generator, for whenever-thesteam-pressure rises Within apredetermined margin below the pressure ofthe water, it. increases the pressure on the water in thepipe-39-and thediaphragm-chamber, and closes the gasvalve.

An advantage of the organization is that the boiler acts correctlyalthough the pressure in the water service pipe may fluctuate. Assiunethat the apparatus is in operation and that there should be a suddendiminution .in the water pressure owing to the openingof'cocks'in otherparts of the house.

This diminution of water pressure would be tollowed =by1two results,namely, (1) the gas supply valve 32 would be closed, thus preventing thefurther. production of steam: and -'(2 before the steam pressure couldbe reduced by the cessation of the supply of fuel, the steam pressurewithin the boiler would cause the water in the float chamber 22, to flowbackwardly into the supply pipe 19, thereby emptying or partiallyemptying :the water in the float chamber, and hence lowering the floatand opening wide the valve ports 26. This backing of the Water into thewater supply pipe is advantageous because it stops the flow of waterfrom the sfloat chamber into the boiler after the gas supply has beenout 01f. Just as soon, however, as the water pressure is resumed in thew-aterservice pipe, the gas is turned full head on, and water floodsinto the float chamber through the wide open feed water 'valve; so thatoperative conditions are quickly restored. This rise and fall of the'feed water valve is thus dependent uponthe opposed pressures of waterin the waterservice pipe and of the steam in the boiler; and, therefore,the feed water valve operates automatically under the steam pressure ofthe boiler to increase the area of said passageway as the steam pressureincreases with reference to the pressure of the source of supply ofwater. Again, assume that there is a pressure of forty pounds in thewater-i service pipe and a steam pressure of twentyfive pounds in thefloat chamber 22, above the water therein, Then the "water will enterthe float chamber under a head of fifteen pounds. If this head isinadequate to supply water to the feed chamber in quantities suflicientto replace the water con stantly flowing out of it into the boiler,then.

the float falls and increases the area of the water passageway into thefloat chamber from the water-service pipe. Another advantage ofutilizing the pressure of the water-main for opening the gas-valve isthat thereby the gas can be turned on readily at a distance from theplace where the apparatus is located, :as, for example,

at its lower end upon an adjusting nut 44.

On the upper end of the piston 42 is a stud .45, upon which a sleeve 46is held by a nut 47. This sleeve extends through an aperture in apartition 48, and fits it water-tight. although slidable with the piston42. one side of the sleeve 46 is a tapered groove 49, the larger part ofthe groove being at the lower end of the sleeve. The groove constitutesa communicating passage between the chambers 50 and 51. The pipingconnections to this form of controller are numbered in the drawings incorrespondence with the analogous parts shown in the preceding figures.The pipe 18 from the feed-water main enters the chamber 50, and has abranch 37 that is connected tothe gas-valve side of the diaphragm 34 asbefore. The pipe 59 that is shown as communicating with the chamber 51,is connected t0 the top of the boiler-coils 2, and the branch 39 extendsto the spring side of the diaphragm 34.

The operation of the controller is as follows: lVa-ter enteringt-hecha-mber 50 from the main 18 forces the piston 42 and the sleeve46downward against the action of the spring 43. The water escapes in asmall stream through the groove 49 into the chamber 51, and'tricklesdown through the pipe 39 into the boiler-coils. As soon as steampressureaccumulates in the boiler the pressure is communicated through a.by-passage 52t6the chamber-53 in which is the spring 43. This pressuretends to carry the piston 42 upward against the water-pressure in thechamber 50, so as to move the piston upward, and bring a wider portionof the groove 49 into the partition 48, thereby counteracting the effectof the steam-pressure against the water-pressure. At the same time, theexcess of steam-pressure acts as before on the diaphragm 34 and cuts offthe fuel supply to some extent. If the Water-pressure suddenly rises thepiston 42 is moved downward, which brings the narrowest part ofthegroove 49 into the partition 48, .and increase in the flow of water isprevented. Simultaneously, the excess of water-pressure 'on thediaphragm 34 opens the fuel-valve farther, and the steam-pressurequickly. rises, thereby supplementing the spring 43 and moving thepiston 42 back to its original position.

illustrated generator is provided with means for securing the forcibleintrodl'lction of gas and air to the burner. To this end the gas isadmitted through a nozzle 55, and concentric with this gas nozzle is asteam nczzle 57 fed by a pipe 58 from the boiler. tube. The steam-jetfrom the nozzle 57 produces a powerful current of gas through the nozzle55. The combined currents of gas and steam enter the burner throughadraft-tube 50 (Fig. 2) and air is thereby drawn in through the openouter end of the drafttube. as to produce a whirling motion, whereby thegas and air are uniformly mixed and distributed in the burner.

The general arrangement of the. boiler, the air-injector and the burnerof the generator disclosed in this application, is similar to thatdisclosed in my copending applica tion filed August 9, 1909, Serial No.512,095,

and is not, therefore,'claimed herein.

I cla1m:-- 1. A vacuum creatlng steanrgenerator for domestic usecomprising an air-suction passage, a continuous flow boiler having awater inlet and a permanently open discharge orifice of fixetisize, agas burner for heating said boiler adapted to be connected with the gasservice-pipe of the building in which the generator is installed, avalve for the supply of gas to the burner, and a pilot light adapted toreceive'gas from the gas servicepipe and in operative position withrespect to said burner, in'eombination with an automatic water valveadapted to produce normally a continuous flow of substantially fixedquantity to. said boiler inlet from a water service-pipe of saidbuilding, an auto:

matic actuator for said gas supply valve, which is subject to theopposed pressures of the water in the water service-pipe and of thesteam in the boiler, being moved to open said valve by the pressure ofthe water in the water service-pipe and to hold said valve open againststeam pressure in the boiler at a predetermined pressure that is lessthan the Water pressure, and being moved to close said valve when thesteam pressure approaches the water pressure, and a singlehand-manipulated valve controlling the admission of water from the waterservice pipe.

2. A vacuum creating steamgenerator for domestic use comprising anair-suction passage, a continuous flow boiler having a Water inlet and apermanently open discharge 01'1- fice of fixed size, a gas burner forheating said boiler adapted to be connected with the gas service-pipe ofthe building in which the generator is installed, and a valve for thesupply of gas to the burner, in combination with an automatic watervalve adapted to produce normally a continuous flow of substantiallyfixed quantity'to said boiler inletirom a water service-pipe of saidbuilding, and an automatic actuator for said gas supply i 'alve which issubject to the opposed pressures of the water in the water servicepipeand of the steam in the boiler, being moved to. open said valve by thepressure of the water in the water service-pipe, and to hold said valveopen against steam pressure in the boiler at a predetermined pressureless than the water pressure, and being moved to close said valve whenthe steam pressure approaches the water pressure.

3. A steam-generator for domestic use comprising a continuous flowboiler having a water inlet'and a permanently open discharge orifice offixed size forthe free discharge of steam under all conditions, a burnerfor heating said boiler adapted to be connected with the gasservice-pipe of the building in which the generator is installed, avalve for the supply of gas to the burner, in combination with anautomatic water valve adapted to produce normally a continuous flow ofsubstantially fixed quantity to said boiler inlet from a waterservice-pipe of said building, and an automatic actuator for said gassupp'lyvalve which is subject to the oppsed pressures of the water inthe water service-pipe and of the steam in the boiler, beingmoved toopensaid valve bythe pressure of the water in thewater servicepipe and tohold said valve open against steam pressure in the boiler at apredetermined pressure that is less than the water pressure, and beingmoved toclose said valve when the steam pressure approaches the Waterpressure.

4. Asteam-generator comprising, incombination, a continuous flow boilerhaving a water inlet and a permanently open ischarge orifice of fixedsize for the free discharge of steam under all conditions, a gas burnerfor heating the boiler adapted to be connected with the gasservice-pipeof the building in which the generator is installed, a valvefor the supply of gasto the burner,

a water valve adapted to control the admission of feed-water and adaptedto produce normally a continuous flow of substantially fixed quantity tosaid boiler inlet from .a water service-pipe,which is open when thegenerator is idle and which is normally open when the generator is inuse, and an automatic actuator for said gas supply valve which issubject to the opposed pres- Siires of the water in the waterservice-pipe and'of the steam in the boiler, being moved to open-saidvalve by the pressure of the water in the water service-pipe and to holdsaid valve open against steam pressure in the boiler at a predeterminedpressure that is less than the water pressure, and being moved to closesaid valve when the steam pressure approaches the water pressure.

5. A steam-gei'lerator comprising, in combination, a contin' ous fiowboiler having a water inlet and a permanently open dis charge orifice offixed size for the free discharge of steam under all conditions,heatproducing means for heating the boiler, an automatic water valveadapted to regulate the supply of water to said boiler inlet from awater service-pipe, which is open when the generator is idle and whichis normally open when the generator is in use, and an automaticregulator for the heat-producing means adapted to reduce theheat-producing effect of the latter whenever the steam pressureapproaches the water pressure.

6. A steam-generator comprising, in combination, a continuous flowfiaslrboiler having a water inlet and a permanently open dischargeorifice of fixed size for the free discharge of steam under allconditions, means operating automatically to control the admission offeed-water and adapted to produce normally a continuous flow ofsubstantially fixed quantity to the boiler inlet, a burner for heatingthe boiler, and means for admitting fuel to the burner from a source offuel supply under pressure adapted to be subjected to and operated bythe pressure of the water supply against both an established, yieldingresistance and the variable steam pressure of the boiler, whereby thesteam pressure is caused to rise with the pressure of the water supply.

7 A steam-generator comprising, in com bin-ation, a continuous flowflash-boiler having a water inlet and a permanently open dischargeorifice of fixed size for the free discharge of steam under allconditions, means operating automatically to control the admission offeedwvater and adapted to produce normally a continuous how of sub;stantially fixed quantity to theboiler inlet, a burner for heating theboiler, and means adapted to operate under the joint control sure andthe steam pressure in the boiler to regulate the burner in accordancewith the difi'erencein said pressures.

8. A steam-generator comprising, in combination, a, boiler having awater inlet, means operating automatically to control the admission offeed-water and adapted to restrict the flow of water to the boilerinlet, heat-producing means. for heating the boiler, and means adaptedto operate under the joint control and opposing action of a variablewater pressure in the water supply and the steam pressure in the boilerto regulate the heat-producing means.

9. A steam-generator comprising, in combination, a boiler having -awater inlet, means operating automatically t control theadmission offeed-Water and adapted to restrict the flow of water to the boilerinlet, heat-producing means for heating the boiler, and means foradmitting fuel to the heat-producing means froma source of fuel sup lyuner pressure, adapted to operate aut matica ly under a variable waterpressure in the water supply, to cause the steam pressure to rise andfall in correspondence 5 'with the pressure of the water supply.

10. A steam-generator comprising, in combination, a boiler having awater inlet, means operating automatically to control the admission offeed-water and adapted to restrictthe flow of water to the boiler inlet,

vheat-producing means for heating the boiler, and means for regulatingthe heat- .produclng means adapted to operate automatically at apredetermined difference between the pressure of the water supply andthe steam pressure the boiler to maintain the steam pressure in theboiler at a lower degree than the pressure of the water sup- 11. Asteam-generator comprising,- in

combination, a boiler having a water inlet,

a' water-feed valve adapted to restrict th admission of feed-water tothe boiler inlet from a source of supply under pressure, heat-producinmeans for heating the boiler, a regulator for the heat-producing meansadapted to be operated by the pressure of the water supply, and amanuallyoperated valve by means of which water under the pressure of thesource of supply, is admitted both to the water-feed valve and theregulator for the heatproducing means. 12. In a steam-generator, thecombination,

with a source of supply of water under pressure and a source of fuelsupply, of a boiler, connections between the boiler and the source ofsupply of water including a feed- 7 water valve for restricting the flowof water, a" b.urner for heating the boiler, connec tionsbet'ween theburner and the source of fuel supply including a fuel-valve forcontrolling the admission of fuel to the burner, a valve-actuatorsubjected to the waterpressure in the source of supply for opening thefuel-valve to admit fuel to the burner, and

a manually-operated valve for controlling" valve controllin saidpassageway and governed in its positionby the feed water and operatingautomatically under the steam pressure of the boiler to increase thearea of said passageway as the steam] pressure increases with referencetothe pressure of the source of supplyv of'water and to reduce the areaof said passageway as the steam pressure falls with reference to thepressure of the source of supply. of water, whereby:

a constant and uniform flow of water is bad to the boiler.

14. In a steam-generator, the combination, with a source of supply ofwater under pressure, of a continuous flow flash-boiler fed from saidsource, and means for controlling the admission of feed-water, said'fixed size for the free discharge of steam under all conditions, meansfor controlling the admission of feed-water including a normally open,automatic feed-valve, said means being adapted to produce a continuousflowthereof under constant head, said means having an orifice of fixedsize through which the feed-water flows under such head, a burner forheating the boiler, and means subjected to the steam-pressure in theboiler for re ulating the burner automatically to maintain the steampressure at a lower degree than the pressure in the source of supply ofwater. I

16. In a steam-generator, the combination, with a source of supply ofwater under pressure and a source of fuel supply, of a boiler,connections between the boiler and.

the source of supply of water, including means for admitting waterautomatically to maintain a constant head and an orifice of fixed sizethrough which water is delivered under said head into the boiler, aburner for heating the boiler, connections between the burner and thesource of supply of fuel, including a fuel-valve for controlling theadu'iissipn of fuel to the burner, a valveactuator connected with, andcontrolling, the fuel-valve, means to close said valve, and connectionsbetween the valve-actuator and the source of supply of water, wherebythe valve-actuator is subjected to the pressure in said source of watersupplyso as to be affected by variations therein and producecorresponding variations in the steam-prese oft-he boiler, and theamount offnel L plied to the burneris varied in accord ance withvariations in the water supply.

17. A continuous flow flash-boiler having, in combination, a permanentlyopen discharge orifice of fixedsize for the free discharge of steamunder all conditions; a float chamber; a pipe communicating with thesteam generating s ace of the boiler and extending within sai floatchamber and opening into said float chamber above the maximum waterlevel therein; a water port at the bottom of said float chamber throughwhich the water flows therefrom to said steam space; a water feedpassage in communication with the water service-pipe of the building inwhich the boiler is located, and supplying Water to the bottom of saidfloat chamber; a valve governing the discharge of water from saidpassage to said float chamber; and a float within said chamber connectedwith said valve, said passage being open when the float is down, andbeing restricted when the float rises.

18. A boiler having, in combination, a permanently open dischargeorifice of fixed size for the free discharge of steam under allconditions; a float chamber communicating with the steam generatingspace of the boiler above the maximum water level therein; a water portbelow the water level of said float chamber through which the waterflows therefrom to said steam space; a water feed passage supplyingwater to said float chamber; a valve governing the discharge of waterfrom said passage .to said float chamber; and afloat Within said chamberconnected with said valve, said passage being open when the float isdown and being restricted when the float rises.

LOUIS W. G. FLYNT. Witnesses: I I

C. S. Davis, D. GURNEE.

